Press release

Niagara University seniors Gina Del Greco and Laura Brownlie discuss works to include in their exhibition, "Chromatic Dynamism: Color and Motion," on view at the Castellani Art Museum through May 21.

The
Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University will host an opening
reception for "Chromatic
Dynamism: Color and Motion" from 4 to 6 p.m.on
Wednesday, March 20.
The exhibition is curated by Niagara University students. It
was organized by Laura Brownlie and Gina DelGreco, NU seniors in
Professor Marian Granfield's introduction
to museum studies
course, offered through Niagara University's new undergraduate
degree in art history with museum studies.

The
artists featured in this exhibition include Charles Clough, Susan
Copley, Sonia Delaunay, Friedel Dzubas, Paul Jenkins, Michael
Kessler, Robert Martin, Joe Neill, Leonardo Nierman and Jonathan
Santlofer. While each works in a personal and distinctive style, all
share a concern for color, space and movement in these abstract
works. However, what caught the attention of the student curators was
the way that they used color to achieve the sense of motion and, for
many, velocity in their work. The arrangement and combination of
colors, and the perceived movement and dynamism that results appears
to be the subject of these works.

The
concept of liberating color from merely descriptive purposes is not a
new invention. Since the late 19th century, artists have
used color for its expressive qualities, whether to communicate an
emotion or produce an optical effect. While many of the artists in
this exhibition appear to work in a Neo-Expressionist style, they
seem to be more focused on color as the subject of the work and not
just as a prop in their adventure to discover the expressive
qualities of gestural painting. By turning color into the subject of
the painting, the pigment seems to take on a life of its own. The
resulting synergy created between color and its perceived movement is
the centerpiece of this exhibition.

"Chromatic
Dynamism: Color and Motion" runs
through May 21. For more information, contact Granfield at
716-286-8367.